INTRODUCTION: My name is Keith Sisman, I am one of several councillors for the Upwood and Raveleys Parish.
I can be contacted by phone on 01487-710552 or email at:
My family and myself reside at 22 Helens Close, Upwood.
I was born about a mile from Upwood in Ramsey, being local to the area I have seen many changes, not all for the better!
I do not belong to any political party being independent. But I do admit to being what some would call rightwing and am totally frustrated by the on going political correctness that seems to rule anything and everything. I have always voted Conservative in elections. I am also a Christian.
WHAT THIS WEB PAGE IS - As a councillor it is my duty to act in the best interests of our Parish. This web page will allow me to do just that, by my being informed and staying informed on important and not so important issues. Where views are expressed, these are entirely mine.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I'm happy to provide web links for your research, this does not mean I agree with everything on those web sites! Please use your own judgement when visiting other web sites.
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My area of special responsibly for the Parish is liaison officer with the police.
Upwood comes under St. Ives Sector, though there is talk of having placed under Ramsey which would make more sense.
Mark Newman is our Sector Inspector and Russell Giddings, our Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant.
WHAT IS NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING?
Neighbourhood policing is about putting the community at the heart of everything the police do.
Each and every neighbourhood will have a visible and dedicated team who know your neighbourhood inside out. They’ll work with you and with partners (such as local councils) to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in your neighbourhood.
A neighbourhood is a geographic area, which is of a size that best serves the needs of the local communities. It can be a few streets or an estate, or it could be a village or group of villages.
For more information about your neighbourhood please go to the My Neighbourhood section of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary Web Site:
http://www.cambs.police.uk/myneighbourhood/nhpdetails.asp
WARNING! Cambridgeshire Police say -
Please beware that there have been an increase in the
number of purse
snatches within Huntingdonshire.
General information:
Try and use a zipped bag
Try and keep your handbags as close to you as possible and hold under the
arm.
When going out only take cards that you think you may need.
Do not keep any pin numbers and cards together.
Please pass on information to family and friends.
Alarms can be brought from any police station which hook onto your bag and
purse at £2.50 each.
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HOORAY!
Transportation and road safety issues concerning Ramsey and District, including Upwood, will be coming before the Environment and Transport Area Joint Committee on 7 July. It is planned that I will be speaking in support of the Council Officers from HDC and CCC.
This is excellent news for the area and is being driven by the County and District Councils.
If our area is approved for Transport improvements, including road safety, there will be extensive consultations which means we all get a say.
If nothing else, we are now on the agenda!
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SOMETHING TO PONDER!
The best safety device to fit in a car is a properly trained driver!
Some road safety experts believe that bad parental examples when driving could lead their children into a false sense of security and bad decision making.
Whilst we have some of the safest roads in the world, people are still being slaughtered every day in preventable crashes. Speed cameras are not reducing road deaths and the death toll of young people dying within a short while of passing their test remains of deep concern. Cambridgeshire has seen at one point last year a 50% increase in roads deaths, see links below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/6958035.stm
http://www.newmarketjournal.co.uk/news/Road-deaths-hit-sevenyear-high.3701697.jp
Something we can all do, regardless of age, is to undertake further driver assessments with a tutor who is qualified in Advanced Driving Techniques.
And how much does this cost? There are enthusiasts who are qualified and they will give their time for free, with a recognised test at the end if the driver so wishes. Manuals (Roadcraft, Highway Code and Driving - The Essential Skills) can be purchased from any good book shop, including Smith's and Amazon. The test has to be paid for, and is conducted by a Police Class One Advanced Driver.
This must be bargain of the century! We have two fully qualified Advanced Driving Tutors offering their time for free in Upwood. Contact Keith or use the link below for further details - click on the car to know more:
We all have a responsibly to create safer roads, which can be done whilst enjoying our driving.
Advanced drivers can enjoy lower insurance, improved tyre and car wear and with petrol, which it is claimed is to reach £1.50 a litre by Christmas, lower fuel bills!!
Contact Keith to know more - (01487) 710552
The best safety device to fit in a car is a properly trained driver!
David Wornham's web site, please click on logo below:
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SHOULD KIDDIES CYCLE TO SCHOOL?
My feeling are posted here, please click on the picture
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Upwood Play Area at Bentley Close, for more info and pictures, click on picture below:
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Young Thomas helps Cambridgeshire County Council uncover a cover up!
Click on the picture for more details:
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Each year Keith helps with the Peterborough Taxi Driver of the Year Comp, for more information, click on picture.
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Fast 'n' furious - Upwood's mad bad roads!
At one time vehicles were crashing as often as one every nine days between Farm Close and Fairmead. Keith with others were responsible for getting Cambridgeshire County Council to provide double white lines and better markings, cats eyes etc. Since then crashes have been reduced to two or three each year. This road has seen 60 + injury crashes and five deaths in recent years!
BUT... Nothing has been done in the 40mph limit, where vehicles continue to crash. Yet it is in the 40mph where our children walk and sometimes cycle to school.
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THINK ON THIS -
SPEEDING IN UPWOOD!
I have some strong opinions on our appalling roads, some which are listed below.
The Government is running an extensive campaign "SPEED KILLS", this gives an entirely false message. As any competent driver knows, speed does not kill or we'd all be dead! Speed in the right place is not the issue, there are many places where a competent driver is perfectly safe at speed in a modern vehicle. Upwood (or any village or town) is not one of those places.
What kills and is a significant factor in many crashes is an inappropriate speed. It is inappropriate speed that is a major causation in vehicle crashes.
And as we know 'appropriate speed' requires the driver to evaluate a number of factors and so driver education and practice is the issue in Upwood. In the 40 mph limit between Farm Close and Meadow Road (C110) there are six junctions, five of which are placed in areas of limited visibility. In addition to this are many private properties coming out onto the main road. Then there is the C111 Longholme/Huntingdon Road with the same problems.
Appropriate speed in our 40 mph limit is not 50, or 60mph (or higher). Allowing for traffic density and visibility, I believe 30 mph is an appropriated speed. When the children walk to school, a School Zone should be introduced).
Drivers who speed through Upwood are not using appropriate speed, but inappropriate speed being unaware of their surroundings. They are a menace who to those with whom they share the road. Being a rural location I wonder if the many who speed through realise it is a village with pedestrians and a school?
A vehicle travelling at 60 mph covers 270 feet in just 3 seconds!
A vehicle travelling at 60 mph takes four times longer to stop than the same vehicle travelling at 30 mph!
I have measured vehicles doing close on 60mph between the High Street junction and the junction where the kiddies cross the road to the school, at school time. I was using a certified radar speed measuring device.
At 60 mph a child will most likely explode on impact with a vehicle, we have recorded 60 mph at school times when the children are out. The injuries received are likely to require the Fire Service and a pressure washer. These speeds are common at school time on the C111 and C110, Upwood.
At 40 mph, the present speed limit 8 out of 10 children die on impact with a vehicle. As such, most children hit by a vehicle at the legal limit (40mph) will require the undertakers.
At 30 mph, the 8 out to 10 children hit by vehicles survive, the injuries may be severe, but at least the Ambulance service and their paramedics are equipped for such.
At 20 mph the injuries are usually slight and few deaths occur, survival being almost guaranteed.
20 MPH outside of schools, at school crossings, and at school time is now becoming normal. But not in Upwood where vehicles frequently travel at 60 mph - This is an abomination!
Most child pedestrians killed by vehicles step or run out into the road suddenly, usually near a school, often when they are late or see a friend. This is why elsewhere in England the authorities are introducing 20 mph 'school zones', a vehicle travelling at 20 mph allows the driver time to react, and the child time to see the vehicle. At 60 mph it is all over - instantly!
RoSPA says "having young passengers in the car increases the likelihood of a crash for inexperienced drivers. Having one young passenger in the car makes an accident twice as likely, and having two or more young passengers makes a crash 5 times as likely. The accident rate to novice drivers drops by 30% after the first year of experience and by another 17% after the second year. Research into hazard perception clearly shows that inexperienced drivers can be up to 2 seconds slower in recognizing possible dangers compared with experienced drivers."
The American Drive and Stay alive organisation says "This is supported by Australian research which shows that not only do young drivers fail to respond to a crisis situation, they also frequently 'freeze' with fear and are unable to protect themselves. This is the exact opposite of the 'fast reactions' that we all mistakenly expect from youngsters".
This is one reason we cannot have people speeding through our village, people and that includes children, need time to react!
I am a
motoring enthusiast, so this is not a 'green', 'anti car' or 'environmental' web page. I am also a parent with children at the local school.
For example, I believe the present 70 mph limit on motorways such as the A1M at Sawtry, and the M6 Toll is far too slow. A good car with a competent driver is not a danger at speed on roads such as the M6 Toll.
I
would like to see more policing of our roads to remove dangerous drivers, and reject speed cameras as they have failed to police our roads satisfactory. Though there is a place for them, mostly they are poorly placed. I ask, how can a speed camera in Huntingdon protect Upwood?
There is a time when drivers need to slow down, this is why we have posted limits. There is no defence of exceeding a posted limit at any time. A car travelling at 60 mph makes nearly ten times the noise than the same vehicle travelling at 30 mph. Even in middle of the night, exceeding a posted limit can be anti-social, if not dangerous. At school time speeding near schools is so wrong and appalling, I'd like to see those who do so properly reprimanded and punished (banned with having to undertake another test before being allowed back on the roads).
Nine out of ten crashes are avoidable, proper driving skills would eliminate most crashes. Driving is a privilege, not a right where a bad driver can bring devastation into the lives of others.
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SHOULD KIDDIES CYCLE TO SCHOOL?
My feeling are posted here, please click
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The picture below was taken on October 9, 2007, when a vehicle being used by Cambridgeshire County Council lost control for unknown reasons at lunch time, outside the school. For further details click on picture. Incidentally, it is CCC who do not see any great problem with excess speed outside the school, despite pleas some action is taken! After removing their vehicle from the ditch, debris including mud and gravel was left on the road surface to inconvenience other road users through damage to bodywork and leading increased braking distances immediately prior to the Farm Close entrance. How was this deterioration to the road surface allowed, when contractors and police were present and the road closed off? At one time brushes were carried and the road surface would have been made good before officers attending an incident left!
Below, vehicle crashes in the 40 mph limit in the village.
The Ka below crashed a few seconds after driving past the school, shortly before school time, October 29, 2007
Why do vehicles continue to crash on the C111, Huntingdon's (unofficial) Northern Relief Road at Upwood?
The road is treacherous and unforgiving, the underlying foundations, if any, are likely to be worn out which can deflect vehicles off their planned course, it is too narrow and the numbers of vehicles far in excess for what was planned when this was a country lane. Ultimate responsibility lies with the driver, but this road does not forgive errors which elsewhere would not be noticed.
What can the authorities do? The road needs walking to inspect and then updating to a standard that is acceptable, this no doubt would cost hundreds of thousands so the crashes will continue.
What can drivers do? The road driven properly presents no hazard unless meeting another vehicle that has lost control. To date this road has seen five deaths and over 60 injuries.
There are several advanced driving courses operated by various charitable organisations that teach road skills above that required for the the basic (novice) driving test, which is the basic minimum standard the law demands to drive solo. Such courses are approved by the DSA (who undertake the novice driving test), to which a recognised Advanced Driving Certificate is awarded on success. Tutors DO NOT charge for lessons which means for about £100 a driver can do the course AND pass the Advanced Driving Test. Costs are for manuals, membership (one off yearly fee), and the test itself. Lastly, Advanced Driving is FUN, improves confidence and allow drivers (or riders) to be better prepared to arrive alive!
There are two fully qualified Advanced Driving Tutors offering their time for free in Upwood, click on the car for further details:
Keith's gripes on the ridiculous Rat-Run through Upwood and the Raveleys! Click here
Photography - pictures are by Keith and Thomas Sisman. Copyright, this remains with Keith and Thomas. Views expressed are those of Keith Sisman alone and no other person or organisation.
Looking towards Upwood from the direction of Great Raveley
Upwood Meadows at Autumn
Keith's web page:
Click below for Keith's pictures of Ramsey:
Click below for Keith and Thomas' pictures of Woodwalton Fen:
Upwood and the Raveleys Web Site
The Christian Congress for Traditional Values is dedicated to upholding the traditional values governing family life, which are seriously challenged by major media organisations in the United Kingdom, click on link below to know more. The link is provided for information purposes, I do not doctrinally approve or endorse all that this organization represents.
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